Just Published in Science
03/09/2018Nitrogen fixation and reduction at boron
Authors: Marc-André Légaré, Guillaume Bélanger-Chabot, Rian D. Dewhurst, Eileen Welz, Ivo Krummenacher, Bernd Engels, Holger Braunschweig*
Abstract: Currently, the only compounds known to support fixation and functionalization of dinitrogen (N2) under nonmatrix conditions are based on metals. Here we present the observation of N2 binding and reduction by a nonmetal, specifically a dicoordinate borylene. Depending on the reaction conditions under which potassium graphite is introduced as a reductant, N2 binding to two borylene units results in either neutral (B2N2) or dianionic ([B2N2]2–) products that can be interconverted by respective exposure to further reductant or to air. The 15N isotopologues of the neutral and dianionic molecules were prepared with 15N-labeled dinitrogen, allowing observation of the nitrogen nuclei by 15N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Protonation of the dianionic compound with distilled water furnishes a diradical product with a central hydrazido B2N2H2 unit. All three products were characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically.
